Kel

I thought it was the ability to throw a curve or a fastball that made three batters strike out, nine times!

Marty, this is one of the easiest questions I've ever had to answer on this site. I'd like to have to turn down, Dwight Yoakam, Garth Brooks, Brad Paisley, Toby Keith and many others, because George Strait had asked if he could sing them. See, easy!

Just booked my ticket to see Mr Murphy! I wonder if he is an optimist? Kel

I can't answer all your questions, but as to age... I am in Australia, and there is an artist who's songs are regularly played on the Brisbane Country Radio station 98.9 FM named Seaman Dan. He began his recording career in 2000, at 74! Regarding age... no limits! Kel

It won't be the last either Mary. My advice would be to always have a complete set spare and ready to use. Some "guitarists" will also advise you to restring the lot when you break one. That is a little like Mario Andretti telling you to always change all four tires on your car if one goes flat. Maybe it's necessary at Daytona, but not not for the family station wagon. When I was learning, I tended to break the G, B and E strings regularly. I suggest you keep a small supply of these, in addition to a full set. However, always use the same brand, and the same gauge. Visit your local music store regularly. Even if just to check out the books. You'll get to know them, and they you, and you can pick up all sorts of advice because one thing most musos like to talk about, is gear and music. I bought a new accoustic guitar last February 2012, and it still has the same strings! Unexpected breakages will still happen, but not so frequently. Cheers, Kel

I remember when Star Wars was the neatest movie out and every one was gobsmacked by the cutting edge effects. When the foley artists hit a high tension tower support wire with a stick and produced the sound of the light sabres I was blown away! So everyday! I also gotta go dig out a kazoo...

Hi Aliz, I'm in a similar place with you, trying to figure things out, so don't look to me for advice, yet, except for one little idea I've used. Subliminal marketing! No, I'm not talking about submitting a "buy this CD" or "this guy is hot! Hot! HOT!" stealthily embedded into your music (note to self, talk to producer about this idea!) but: I am just starting on my journey, and I'm not a performer. The advice you'll read everywhere about playing live shows isn't available to me. I can't even sing in tune! So the only people I have to work with at this stage, are people I already know. In some ways, my making this songwriting journey public is akin to somebody coming out of the closet. I fear that if I use the term "songwriter" everyone will think I'm loopier than they already think I am. However, being in my 50s I don't really give a damn what anybody else thinks it's only what I think of me that matters! True friends will be supportive, others are acquaintances and not worth worrying about anyway. I have devised a simple little ploy that has so far enjoyed a smidgin of success. I emailed my "friends" with a link to my professionally produced demos on my soundcloud account, asked them to listen and answer 3 easy questions. 1. Does the song sound familiar in any way, and if so, so what by whom? eg... "It really chugs along like a CCR standard", or "Man, you got that Johnny Cash train ride sound down pat!" 2. How would you describe the "feel" of the song? eg... "It made me go outside and kick my dog!" or "Buddy, you brought a tear to my eye!" or "I just wanted to dance." 3. Can you imagine an established artist/performer singing this song? If so, who? Now a couple of points... none of my songs sound like either CCR or Johnny Cash, which is why I used those examples. Don't give them an answer. Give an example that is so far from what you think about your song, that they won't even think about that artist at all. But I found if you don't give them an example, they won't think of anybody! Hopefully nobody will go outside and kick their dog when they hear my songs, though other emotions are possible. I felt I had to put something way out in there to balance things. And not written here, I also acknowledged the songs may be outside of their preferred genre, and specifically asked them not to think about the performer (unless it's you, of course) but the song itself. One reply I received was he immediately thought of the band Black 47, an Irish-Rock band out of NYC that I had never heard of. So I checked them out and yes, he was right. Cool! So why am I doing this? One piece of advice I am reading over and over and over again, is that when you submit your work to anybody, give them an idea of what to expect. Don't tell them you're the next Elvis, though! They will probably be disappointed. I want to know what other people think my songs sound/feel like, and how they feel when they hear them, so I can tell A&R people, radio people, or at least have a ball park idea of who I should be pitching to. One more thing, I sew the seed about them passing the email along to their friends.(This is the subliminal Marketing part..) Hi, I am wondering if you can do me a favour, and it won't involve sending this email to ten of your friends in the next 24 hours or your ears will fall off! (Though by all means do so...) When you've got a few spare minutes would mind clicking on the following link, have a listen to the song, and answer 3 easy questions? I don't know if it's a good market research strategy or not, but it's better than not having one, I think! Best of luck with your own journey. Cheers, Kel

Hey Bridgitte, I'm betting you're a shot gal! What'll it be? Thanks for taking the ride! Stephen, move over, this gal is wild! Kel

I also bought an SX guitar, but mine is one of the semi accoustic tele's in tobacco sunburst. I'm very happy with it. I can't justify spending any more money on a guitar than I did, as I'm not that good, and not looking to be a performer, though I'll be taking it along to the local Country Music CLub when I pluck up the courage to actually perform. Enjoy your Furion. Kel

I won't list them all, but I make it a point of visiting fellow Songstuffers' soundcloud accounts and having a listen. If I like what I hear, I usually click on follow. I was recently introduced to Spotify, but I'll listen to unsigned real artists instead of over produced crap any day. Kel

Thanks for being my first, and only reader. I'll start another trend here and now. I promise to shout a beer or a shot of whatever, to whoever reads my blog. Check the fine print for details of how to collect. (Stephen has it easy!) By the way, I wrote this blog entry at work today, so there was no additional inspiration from a brewed, fortified or distilled beverage, not tablet, green leafy substance, powder, gas or on-line paranetic influences. This is just how I am all the time. Fine Print To collect aforementioned guaranteed beer, or shot, simply advise Kel when you are in the town/city in which he currently resides and he will pull out all stops and deliver said promised beer and shot at a time mutually convenient. If a mutually convenient time can not be arranged, a time convenient to Kel will be arranged for enjoyable consumption of said beverage on your behalf. What a guy!

Hi everyone, As the Topic Title suggests, this thread is all about me! And why shouldn't it be? I'm writing it, after all! And you can believe, if there is anything in this world I know about, it's me! Just ask me! I wish to announce to the world, that now, at long last, you have access to the most recent of all my internet projects, my Songstuff blog, Kelisms. I know you can't wait to get there and start reading, so I'll make it easy for you. Just click on the link below. Cheers, Kel Nobody knows Kel, like Kel knows Kel! http://forums.songstuff.com/blog/181-kelisms/

I've also received a letter from Paramount Song with a contract. Yes it was really exciting. But YOU are paying THEM for making a demo. Okay, unless you can perform, record and produce by yourself, it's not so bad. However, there are more affordable organisations than ParamountSong. I have heard a sample, if you haven't Google "Barker's Blues" it's the one I know of. It was written by a guy witha a really weird wailing voice. I prefered the Demo tht PS did, but others who I played both for didn't. That said, their production is undoubtedly good. But there are more affordable options. I have recently used "Reeldemo" and "Nigel Cuff Music" to produce demos, at around US$100 per song, much lower than PS rates for similar instrumentation. I think from memory and all the spam mail I receive, a vocal/guitar demo is $190 and goes up from there. I AM NOT affiliated with the organisations I have named other than as a client. "Empire Music" is another I have found costing around US$250 for a demo to be produced. There are others... Do what you like, but don't be sucked in by a recording contract that is really you buying a demo. If you think a demo from them is worth what they ask, fair enough. But it's a DEMO it's not a break into the recording industry. Kel

I am still finding my way in "the industry" but my understanding is, that in assigning the copyright to the publisher, you are asking them to do what you want them to do, ie publish your song. When they have this control they can attempt to place your song with confidence that you aren't out there trying to place the song yourself, in competition with them. My understanding is also, that money they earn as a result of placing your song with an artist (lets say for the fun of it, a superstar!) is that they will recover their costs, and then the profits will be distributed to the songwriter(s) as per the contract. Short answer, it looks like a contract for them to do what you want them to do. I am not a legal expert, of course. Just my understanding of the business, as meagre as it is. Kel

I just checked out Harry Fox Agency as suggested by TapperMike. However, it seems to me, they don't do what a non-performing songwriter is after, namely placing our songs with people who'll play them. Sure, they'll somehow find the cents that are generated from somebody playing the songs... what they do is further down the road. A lot of advice I see in a lot of places, and I must say, also here on Songstuff is very much like Steve Martin's (the banjo player and comedian) two step plan to be a millionaire and avoid paying taxes... Step 1. Get a million dollars... Full of what to do, but no how to do it. That's where organisations like Taxi and Musicxray come in I guess. But is there any other way? Getting splinters from so much head-scratching, Kel

I know when I'm doing it right because the windows shake, but don't shatter!

Kelisms kel-isms [kel-iz-mmz] noun a remark, phrase, sentence, action or philosophical announcement or catchphrase that may be considered out of the ordinary, if not extraordinary, and made by Kel. origin: 1980-present; Kelisms first started to emerge in the early 1980s when Kel first realised he had a slightly different, if not skewed vision of the world to most other people. It wasn’t until the mid-1990s that the term “Kelsims†came into popular use, mainly by Kel himself, when asked to explain his particular viewpoint, thought, action or outrageous announcement that had upset somebody too thin-skinned and/or lacking in intellect to recognise humour when they saw or heard it. Into the second decade of the new millennium, the term has gained widespread use around the world, or at least the world that Kel inhabits, to describe anything slightly odd, warped, skewed, off-centre, mildly unusual, hysterically un-politically correct, or something completely defying any sane person’s comprehension, and uttered, written, or acted out (as in charades) by Kel, or somebody as clever, insightful and intelligent as Kel. synonyms: rants, ravings, ramblings, delusions, inappropriate blathering, insightful observations, clever deductions, brilliantly devised concepts, ingenious elucidations who is this, Kel? Read on! Entry #1 Hi all and welcome to my blog. I have been inspired to create this blog through some positive feedback I have received both as PMs and in chat. So don’t blame me, it’s their fault! I don't claim to be an "expert" or any sort of guru on this craft of songwriting. In fact I consider myself a student. I’ve played guitar for 40 years, and still consider myself a learner. (I learned E7 the other day!) I simply pass along what I have learned in my own extensive and considerable search for guidance. For those unfamiliar with my posts, I tend to concentrate on structure rather than content, and rarely offer alternative lines, though I have offered different ways of saying something from time to time. People write for different reasons, and that is sometimes obvious in what they are writing about. While I may help them focus what they are saying, I try not to tell them what to say, or not say. This first blog entry is really to let my reader (readers, if there is more than one!) know a little more about me, and my songwriting journey, not so much for establishing my credentials, but to hopefully provide an understanding of where I am coming from as a songwriting, critic and consumer of music. I am in my 50s now, and look to making a living from songwriting when I grow up. Don’t worry; while I have my head in the clouds, my feet are planted firmly in the air! I can’t say I have written a lot of songs. I haven’t. I know I have 13 on my Soundcloud page, and a few on hand that I’m nowhere near happy with for one reason or another, and sadly, some I’ve lost along the way. I particularly remember writing a Country duet back in the late nineties I’d like the Muse to revisit upon me. Please, Muse? The number of songs I’ve completed is closer to 20 than 30, I think. However I try to put everything I have into every one. This is radically different to the school of thought that says “write, record, forget, move on…†that I have read on Songstuff. I see every song I write as a song that can be improved (or ruined) by the further application of anything new I learn. I don’t believe in re-inventing a wheel, if the most of the hard work has been done already. There-in lays a whole blog entry, so I won’t elaborate on that for now. Update: it's a few months down the track since I started these prattlings and my MasterWriter now holds over 80 song files or versions. I haven't recorded them all and they aren't all "finished" but I must say nothing has spurred on my creativity more than contributing regularly to Songstuff. I urge everyone to become active. Don't just read about stuff, do stuff... Song stuff! Writing is not a cathartic process for me. It’s simply something I’ve always done, in one form or another. I’ve written songs, a novel, several short stories, and even a few poems. I’ve suffered rejection and indifference, had some minor publishing successes and have even won a contest or two, including here on Songstuff. I remember during the 90s I was even making Doom WADs. I won’t bother to explain what that is… those of us who know will understand! My musical preference these days is Country, but I have always been exposed to most genres of music. I grew up listening to such diverse artists as Slim Dusty, Englebert Humperdink, Elvis Presley, Charley Pride, and Al Martino, because these were the artists my mother liked. My father didn’t seem to care about music at all, apart from “Dead Ants†which he performed at most family functions where beer was flowing. As a 70s teenager I couldn’t not be influenced by what we now know as Classic Rock and even Glam Rock. I cried during most of my late teens and early twenties because I thought the guitar was dead. Every song on the radio had electronically synthesized sound that grated at me. My friends and I would purchase “Disco†records, and then go to regular “Death To Disco†concerts where said Disco records were thrown into a bonfire as part of a guitar worshiping ritual. Thank goodness for Jim Steinman who showed us how our own Rock And Roll Dreams Come Through by keeping guitars prominent (Todd Rundgren probably helped a lot there) and he was ably supported by Jon Bon Jovi and later by Messers Rose, Cobain and yeah okay, I had lost interest in rock by then… I had found George Strait! Songstuffers in America may cringe at the term, but down here in Australia, Country music is still considered the red headed step child nobody wants, despite the efforts of aforesaid Slim Dusty who chalked up an incredible 105 albums (he died during production of #106) and had sold more than 7 million records in Australia alone at the time of his death in 2003. Anyway, I’ll pay homage to Slim on another occasion, but for now… In 1995, there was 1, one, I say ONE major city radio station in Australia with a Country format. 2SM, in Sydney. And it only lasted a year! But what a year!!! That oft maligned minor AM radio station in the FM dominated Australian market introduced Australia to George Strait, Tim McGraw, Alan Jackson, The Tractors, The Mavericks, Lonestar, Vince Gill, Dwight Yoakam, Shania Twain, Faith Hill, Jo Dee Messina and many others who I am sure we would be ignorant of without 2SM’s brave move to play Country Music in Rock and Pop dominated Sydney radio. Thank you 2SM. I’d better conclude my ramblings before anyone starts to understand me! Thanks for reading, and I think I’ll start a trend by having a shortlist of future blog subjects (or targets) at the end of the entry and you can help choose the focus of the next entry by participating in the poll. Cheers for now, Kel Upcoming Blog Subjects: The world according to Slim Re-inventing the Wheel Where did that idea come from? Syllables – we know they're there, but why do we ignore them? What to say, and how not to say it!

I'm going in a different direction. I'm not a believer in having to have experienced something to be able to write about it. We are songwriters. We all have imagination. We take nothing, put it into song. We create something from nothing. If we were limited to our own experiences, we'd be unfairly restricting ourselves. Now, what does a good love song need? In my opinion, it's longing! Not desire, Not want, not even feelings of devotion or adoration. Longing! There are three ways to express longing that I have found, so far. 1. Lyrically. No, I don't mean that the song should literally say, "I long for you" but it should metaphorically say, "I can't live without you!" A great example is Harry Nilsson's "Without You", 2. Melodically. If you are a believer in the Tension and Release school of melody making, you probably do this already. I know I do. The best way I know is to start or finish a phrase 1 whole tone above the tonic of the chord it is played over. For those not big on theory (and a lot of songwriters, like Dianne Warren wouldn't know theory if it hit them!): If you are playing a G chord, sing an A note. If singing a C chord, play a D note. It can be achieved to a lesser extent, by playing a whole tone above the dominant too. ie. Playing an E note over a G chord, or an A note over a C chord. This 6th note is already a part of the chord's family, so it won't feel wrong, unlike singing the 2nd note, which creates the tension that in turn creates a feeling of longing. The masterclass example of this form of melody is Paul McCartney's "Yesterday". 3. Combine 1 and 2! The song should only be as long as the message takes to be made. Consider "Donna" by Ritchie Valens. This song is real short. He sings it twice which is why goes as long as 2:23!. That is performance though, not the length of the song per se. The form a love song should be written in is not set in stone. Most radio songs conform to Verse - Chorus - Verse - Chorus - Bridge - Chorus (also known as ABABCB) because it works on radio. In a world where our attention span is being reduced into soundbites, this form provides enough stability for people to learn the song easily, and enough variation that it doesn't get boring, and therefore, "tuned out" by the listener. If you are a singer/songwriter who is not trying to get their song on the radio, use whatever form you wish. You still can if you are trying to get on the radio but the majority of songs on the radio use the ABABCB form because it works. All your questions addressed. My opinion only, my friend, and I am NOT saying anyone else is wrong. Cheers, Kel

I was going to attend a songwriting workshop with Jacques Gentil on Sunday 26th, until I told him Ralph White was in town that day. He decided to stay in Melbourne and run his workshop on line. He runs Magesongs Publishing and Songwriting School out of Melbourne. He encouraged me to go see him actually.

Some of your music is almost country as it is. All you need to do is start and finish your licks on the tonic note of the chord you are playing over, and flatten the third, and whallah! Country! You had my foot tappin' along earlier today while I was at work. I left you a message on your website suggesting we get together for a beer sometime .

My friend, you make this sound as if it's a bad thing! Kel PS Listening to your music right now!

Sorry, it's lost on me. I won't comment further. Kel

Sorry, I'm not trying to alienate anyone outside Australia, but I just got wind of an opportunity that is happening in Australia, this month! (May 2013) As part of a tour called Three Wise Monkeys, renowned lyricist, George Murphy will be joining another couple of people I've never heard of in a terrific opportunity for Australian songwriters to see this award winning songwriter live in his workshop. I AM NOT AFFILIATED with either the tour organisers, the songsummit site or with George Murphy. I have learned a lot from his lectures I have seen on line, and wanted fellow Aussies to at least know about his tour. His workshop runs around 5 hours, and half of that is critiqing songs by attendees! For full details of the tour, visit http://www.songsummit.com.au/ I repeat, I have NO AFFILIATION with this tour or with the songsummit site, I am simply advising my fellow Aussie songwriters of the opportunity to see this guy while he is in the country.And his 5 hour workshop costs only $50!!! Regards, Kel

I use Guitar Pro 5 and Guitar Pro 6 because I mainly want/need notating software. (I find GP5 easier to actually write, but GP6 is better for producing a MIDI file.I record with Audacity, mainly because I only record rough demos and send these to demo producers as I'm not as good a guitarist as I'd like to be, and send my shower cold when I sing in it. I have used Mixcraft (6) and Pro Sonus 2 (free version) but to be honest, I'd rather do what I know, than learn how to use a fully fledged DAW properly. I don't want to be a producer, and recognise my own limitations as a performer. I use Audacity to record my vocals, and I still don't know what all the effects do, and I'm not into experimentation for it's own reward. I post my GP MIDIs to my soundcloud account, and from all the "listens" I've only received 1 negative comment about posting a midi file. I explain why I do, I guess, so that alleviates a lot of possible derisive comments. I still gather new followers every week though. Cheers, Kel

Well said. And I agree with what you say about rock music too. I was a teenager during the 70s, and was heavily influenced by the Bristish bands, Deep Purple, Status Quo and to a lesser extent Led Zeppelin, and the Aussie bands like AC/DC, Flowers (later Icehouse), The Angels (known in US as Angel City) and Cold Chisel who were starting to make themselves noticed. I was never a "disco" fan, and was loyally following rock acts as they performed around the various pubs and clubs. I never really got into the American acts, with the exception of Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen who were vastly different, and have both gone on to be hugely successful. Other than those acts though, to me the 80s, 90s and so far the 0's (naughties?) have been abysmally short of attention grabbing acts, for me. I never got into the grunge movement, though I respect what Mr Cobain did to singlehandedly (it seems) develop a genre. As rock continued to slide in my esteem, country (who was always in my mind due to family preference) has risen and I rarely listen to anything else these days. Anyway, my opinions, right or wrong, good or bad. It's my radio and I'll listen to what I want, dammit! LOL Cheers, Kel